Maelstrom

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Posted by jwesley123, 6 hours, 30 minutes ago. Permalink

The Hunger Breaks in Portsmouth

Portsmouth, Ohio — After weeks of total blight, the land itself has begun to heal.

 

Fields once choked with gray, brittle stalks now show fresh green shoots breaking through the soil. The cracked earth of Main Street has darkened with moisture, and weeds are sprouting through the pavement. Water in the Scioto River has lost its pale metallic sheen, running clear once again.

 

Livestock brought into the area are feeding without issue, and stored grain no longer crumbles into dust. The faint, dry odor that had lingered in the air since the disaster has dissipated entirely.

 

The transformation was sudden, occurring overnight. From the hills to the riverbanks, Portsmouth’s landscape has shifted from lifeless sterility to signs of new growth — as if whatever force had drained the place simply vanished.

Posted by jwesley123, 14 hours, 34 minutes ago. Permalink

“Market Crash, Witch’s Rise”

[LIVE NEWS FEED TRANSCRIPT]

 

“It’s been a week since the Information Super Highway Potholes crisis sent shockwaves through every corner of our economy and our culture. The aftershocks are still being felt — not just in the streets, but in the markets.

 

All major corporate indexes closed down again today, marking the fifth consecutive day of double-digit losses. Experts say the sustained drop is worse than the crash of 2008 in both scale and speed.

 

Defense stocks — traditionally insulated by conflict — are down between 22 and 31 percent after questions arose about the effectiveness of conventional weapons against emerging Maelstrom-class threats, such as last week’s so-called “robotic global superterrorist.”

 

Tech companies have been hit even harder, with losses in the 35 to 42 percent range, thanks to both the infrastructure collapse and ongoing questions about cybersecurity and physical data vulnerabilities. Energy and agriculture aren’t far behind, each posting their worst quarterly outlooks in decades.

 

But amid the wreckage, one organization is rising in a way analysts are calling “unprecedented.”

 

The Sons of Salem — an ultra-traditionalist religious-political group known for its militant rhetoric and ritualistic pageantry — has reported record-shattering donation levels in the past seven days. Financial disclosures reveal an intake of more than $4.8 billion in public and private contributions, primarily from rural and exurban regions.

 

Our newsroom has verified that a significant portion of these funds came from small-dollar donors giving less than $200 each, a sign of broad-based grassroots support rather than isolated corporate backing.

 

Pollsters are equally surprised. A new Gallman-Krieger national survey finds that 41% of Americans view the Sons of Salem “favorably” or “very favorably” — up from just 9% last quarter. In the Midwest, that number spikes to 56%. Support is highest among respondents who believe the Goshen Wall “saved lives” and those who think the U.S. should “reclaim” abandoned territories by any means necessary.

 

Perhaps most concerning to civil rights groups is the organization’s announcement this morning: they intend to bid for ownership and governance rights to the abandoned territory of Goshen, Indiana. Legal analysts note that while such a purchase is controversial, it is not unprecedented under federal Abandoned Territory Law, provided the Department of Interior approves the transfer.

 

We took to the streets for reaction. In Elkhart, Indiana, just 20 minutes from the Goshen wall, a man named Carl told us: “If the Sons take Goshen, maybe they’ll finally clean it out. Government sure hasn’t.” But in Chicago, protestor Yvette Ramos said: “You’re talking about handing an entire town over to extremists. That’s not security — that’s a crusade.”

 

At press time, a Quinn-Baylor flash poll shows that 38% of Americans support the Sons of Salem controlling Goshen, 45% oppose, and 17% remain undecided. Among those aware of the monster sightings in Goshen before the Wall, support rises to 52%.

 

The White House has not commented on the bid, and neither the National Guard nor any corporate stakeholders inside Goshen have confirmed whether they would cooperate with a Salem-controlled administration.

 

One thing is clear: while the nation’s largest companies are bleeding value, the Sons of Salem have positioned themselves as the first power player of the post-crash era. Whether their rise is a passing wave or the start of a new kind of governance in the Maelstrom age… remains to be seen.”

Latest Journals

4 days, 1 hour ago: Pierre Martin wrote a Downtime Journal for Vacation Island

Meeting Emi again

Emi contacted me. She had a hard time after our last mission together and was suffering from serious heart issues. 

I offered to heal her. 

We met in an underground hotel in Paris, and I used the regenerative light of god to bring her back to full health.

It was a good experience.

I liked helping a friend, and I liked using my power for good.

It's why I became what I became. To help humans. To improve the way of life of the pure and the innocent. 

I am thinking more and more about trying to use that power like a messiah or a prophet. 

If people were to believe in me, I could show them the path to redemption. 

Show them how the world would be a better place with them at my side, working in unison for the common good. 

And bit by bit, they would have a new set of principles, helping me to achieve our utopia. 

5 days, 10 hours ago: Mensk Xelnaga [13] wrote a Downtime Journal for Vacation Island

The Net that closed on me.

They must have been tracked my entry into this world. What other way could they have learned so much about me? It's like they had precognition. They followed my movements from my flight back home and invested considerable resources into catching me. The instant I ran into their net trap and learned of their investigation into me and Johnny I fled the farm. My calculations had long ago revealed this was a possibility, but the probability of it happening this quickly into my time on this world was extremely low. Gladys, the stupid, noisy, suicidal hag may have been the unaccounted factor in the authority's ability to pin me down. She couldn't have given them much, but if they got info on my location at all it would have been child's play to track me down from my flight. 

 

I swore at this oversight and tried to bunker down in another location hoping to evade them. However, I also hadn't counted on the government being keen enough to use Werewolves to track me down. It was only a matter of days before I was found again. Even a harbinger intervened, even if it wasn't personally present. Knowing my luck in the states was nowhere to be found I followed Johnnys advice and grouped up with him in the Netherlands. There I thought I could finally escape the net they set for me. Unluckily however, I had been predicted yet again. Escaping the states was too easy. 

 

They set me up and this time I had fallen for it hook, line, and sinker. I had been busy researching governments, werewolves, and their efforts to locate me. Just when pieced it together a spec-ops team burst in my latest residence. They took me to a black site and there I was left to rot until someone special enough deigned to give me an offer. A job offer.  

 

It didn't come in the way I imagined, but power and luck are the only two currencies in this world I respect.

 

Human's uplift hasn't been delayed by this, it's been accelerated. 

5 days, 15 hours ago: Liz wrote a Downtime Journal for Down the Hatch

Movie nights pt 1.

--- How to train your dragon ---

Lizzie hide her face in Jenn's shoulder when Toothless went down. She had to pause when she thought hiccup was gonna kill Toothless, and paces around the house, wind following her. She was really sad about Toothless's lost part of his wing. 

But, then she loved the rest of it. She was scared and worried, and felt bad for the dragon at the end.

"Maybe the big dragon was confused? If he is that big, he probably needs to eat a lot. Maybe he get's energy from the volcano!"

She watched it 9 times the week she first saw it.

--- Frozen ---

Lizzie loved Elsa, and Sven, and was less interested in anyone else. She spend two hours after the movie making "Poof! Creeeek! Shang!" Noises, pretending to make magic Ice castles. 

Jenn and Tilly put a stop to that when the temperature started dropping around her, distracting her with food, a walk, and time to play with mittens.

5 days, 17 hours ago: Liz wrote a Downtime Journal for Vacation Island

Lizzie is in Prison Pt. 2

Lizzie walks out around her room. She looks out the window.

She focuses for a minute, holding her staff. 
// Activating : https://thecontractrpg.com/gift/revision/65341/
// 300 range + divination

-----
Okay.  There are a number around.  Some above you, some below.  It's a little weird.  You can sense one out in the air there, over the field, but you can't see anything there.

// I think this is theoretically a little back in time, since Lizzie went on a contract. So she doesn't have the ability to control alien creatures yet. 

Lizzie will look up. She smiles a little.

At least there are animals here. I wonder if they will need help.
They she goes to wait for Dr. Brown on her bed.  She looks for some PJs.

If Dr. Brown doesn't get back in half an hour she probably falls asleep 

----------
// Are there PJs Lizzie can use?
Minerva McAlaster (Poly) — 11:45 AM
Inside of the dresser are some pajamas.  They're a little large, but by tomorrow they'll be replaced with clothes in her size. 

 A half hour passes and no Dr. Brown.  Sleep. 

Dr. Brown comes back the next day.

----------

Lizzie spends her time looking out the window. She'll keep trying to make out that creature. Sometimes she'll sing, letting out chirps of bird song.

----------
Give me perception investigation
----------
1
----------
She cannot make out that creature out there.   The birds are a bit of a distance, they do not respond to the song. 

The next day, Dr. Brown enters.  "Hello Lizzie.  Are you ready to do some work?"

----------

Lizzie nods. 

"mhm. I guess."
"Whats the invisible animal up there?"

Lizzie asks, gesturing out her window
// Me, thinking it's a ceiling painted like the sky
// Lizzie just casually revealing one of the most useful ability for Gen Wyld

----------

"That's great."  She smiles.   "You look better, too.  I'm sorry I wasn't able to come back last night [Empathy:  worry.  Stress.] But I'm glad you were able to sleep.  Did you like the bed?"

The bed was very soft. 

She tilts her head to the side, looking at it.  "I don't think there's an invisible animal up there." [Truth].  "What makes you think there is one?"
----------

"Oh! Did you have to go be a mommy? The bed was too soft. But I cuddled with Steven, and that made it better. "

Lizzie pets Steven, who is wrapped around her arm. 

"Oh. If it's not invisible..."

Lizzie looks over at where the 'sky' is.

"Hmmm.

Well.

There are magic animals there, there, there, there and there. Or there was when I last checked."

Lizzie points in the directions of all the animals she detected yesterday.

----------

There's a moment of pain.  "No... I just had to go argue with people.  But it's okay."  She tilts her head to the side.  "Oh, I'm sorry.  We can get you something to make it firmer..."

Dr. Brown follows Lizzie's vision.  And then her eyebrows go up as Lizzie just points around.  "That's very,  very impressive,  Lizzie.  You're very special.  Do you have any other special abilities?"

----------

"Ummmm. loook!"

And then Lizzie will do the optical illusion trick where you remove your thumb then put it back on. 

Then giggle.
"Oh! um.... I also... It's hard to hurt me. And bad to probably. Not a good Idea to." [True] 

----------
Dr.  Brown smiles. "That's very impressive,  Lizzie." [Lie]

She nods after.   "I don't want to hurt you,  Lizzie.   No one should.  I'm sorry you have to have found out that you're hard to hurt. Means someone tried."  She ruffles their hair again gently.  "Today's going to be easy.  You just have to let some of us poke and prod you a bit, take some of your blood.  And in exchange, we can go see some animals after.  How's that?"

----------

"Oh. Okay. Ummm. I should probably do the poking of myself. Like I said. But... I guess that's okay. Why do you want my blood?"

----------
"We want to try to figure out what makes you so special."

----------

"Oh. Okay I guess."

Lizzie hops down, and follows Dr. Brown.
She does need to do the poke herself to get blood. Needles shatter on her skin, a bit of ethereal bark appearing.

----------
// Time skip to catch up to the current time.

5 days, 18 hours ago: Liz wrote a Downtime Journal for Lot No. 7

Lizzie is in Prison. Part 1

The trip was long.  Lizzie, in her  snake form, was in the specimen container, and in its position in the truck she couldn't see out a window.  But it wasn't all on the truck.  She could see out on the tarmac at one point as she was carried out of the truck, to a Learjet sitting on the tarmac.  It had the Gen-Wyld logo on its tailwing.   The flight was a few more hours.   Dr. Brown tried to speak with her pretty much the entire time, unless Lizzie asked for quiet.

They landed.   Another truck. Then eventually, out.  An underground garage.  She could watch herself carried along, though hallways, past people.   Though doors.   She could feel the pressure change at one point.   They stopped.  The doors behind them closed.  The doors in front of them opened.  A little more walking.  A room.

The walls were bright yellow, the ceiling blue.  A large window dominates one wall.  Outside,  some greenfield, and then forest past that. Birds flitting about out there.   A bed.  A dresser.  A few more things.  "Welcome home, Lizzie.   Are you hungry?  We have your favorite food ready."

The container is set down on the table.  "One more time.  You promise not to hurt anyone or try to escape, right?"

Lizzie is quiet. 

When she is out of her cage, she shifts back into her human form. 

She has little tears in the corner of her eyes. She brushes her tears way.

"I don't ... unless people hurt me. Or maybe if they hurt animals near me. For a month. I can't promise for forever. "
"What if like. You are evil or something."
"But yeah. I promise." [True]

 

Dr. Brown nods, and after Lizzie promises... she nods, typing in a short code.  The magnetic lock on the container releases, and the container is opened.   She's let out.

The doctor gasps quietly as Lizzie shifts like that, clapping their paws together just a little.  "So very impressive.  You're very,  very special, Lizzie."  There's a pause at the comment.  "You promise but to hurt anyone or escape for a month?     Can I argue you up to a year?  A lot of things go though years... but regardless, I won't hurt you. [Truth.]  I'm not evil. [Truth.]."

She nods after, rubbing a hand though her long, brown hair.  "So.  You want to think of this as an employment, right?"

Lizzie frowns. She wraps her arms around her self a little bit. 

"Okay. Yeah, I won't for a month. Unless I have to on a job. Or something like that. Or someone tries to hurt me or an animal." [True], Lizzie means it.

"A year is a long time. And... um... I don't really know you. Maybe you think your not evil, but you are. Sometimes people are like that." [True]

Lizzie tears up. 

"I want to be friends. But. Yeah. Um. It's like a job that I'm doing. I can do jobs." [True].

 

Lizzie looks up at Dr. Brown.

"Can... Can I have a hug?"

Dr. Brown watches Lizzie frown like that, and those arms go around themselves.  She nods a little.  "Okay..."  

She nods a little.  "It is a long time.. but it's also not very much time at all.  You're very young, you need stability."   She wiggles her nose a bit as Lizzie speaks like that.  "You've had to grow up very quickly.  I'm sorry about that."  [Truth.]

She nods again, and kneels down, hugging Lizzie tightly.

With Liz's empathy, she knows that Dr. Brown was mostly excited, ambitious, clinical, when she'd first purchased her.  The emotions of concern and care only really formed after Lizzie went back to human form.  Somewhat maternal.

 

Lizzie starts crying softly. She cries for a while. 

"I miss my mommies." She whispers. 

She sniffles. 

"What... What is my job gonna be? I talk to animals and make them my friends?"

The good doctor just holds Lizzie tighter as they start to cry like that and just holds them for as long as it takes for them to stop crying.  They were only a child, despite their supernatural abilities and the situation they had been in.  They just needed someone.  

Subtle feelings of sadness and guilt spring forth from Dr. Brown at the mention of Lizzie's mommies.  

Once Lizzie cries herself out and they move on, she nods.  "Some.  We're also going to take some of your blood and have you do various tests for us.  We're going to have you talk allll about your exciting life.  I think we'll get you a tutor.  Somehow you don't strike me as one who's had a lot of formal schooling."

She licks her thumb and rubs a bit of the dirt on Lizzie's face off.  "And she'll get you a hairbrush and a shower.  Do you know how to clean yourself up?"

Lizzie nods.

She runs a hand through her hair a little self concious. She nods. 

It was cleaner than it used to be after Jennifer started helping her. And she knows how to shower after Jennifer showed her that to.

Dr. Brown nods.  "Okay.  Do you want to start with that? Or food?  Or sleep?  We'll start your job tomorrow."

There's a pause.  "But yes... talking with animals and making them our friends will be part of it."

"Um... can I have food. And then we can talk. I don't need to sleep if I don't wanna. I can make a berry that will fix the part of my brain that sleep fixes."

"I also don't need to eat. But I like eating."

"Okay.  This way." She stands up, and offers her hand to Lizzie, which se takes.

She leads them out of the bedroom.  There's a small dining area.  Sitting on the table is a large bowl of macaroni and cheese.  Extra creamy.  Very clearly made for taste above anything else.

"Are you a mommy Dr. Brown?"

Lizzie keeps eating.

Dr. Brown resists the mild urge to shrink under those piercing eyes.  They just watch Lizzie eat, smiling softly.

She hesitates at the question, and she nods. "Yes. I have a pair of daughters about your age."

Lizzie nods. 

"You act like a mommy. I didn't know how human mommies behaved. My first mommy left.... Or at least that's what Dad said. He might have been lying."

She scoops more mac and cheese into her mouth. She eats quickly, having learned to eat mostly when food was scarce.

"What are their names?"


She smiles softly, just nodding at the comment that she acted like that.  Probably.  She knew some of her coworkers would treat Lizzie like a tool.   Or worse, like one of the test animals, to use, and dispose of.  But Lizzie was just a child... and this was her discovery.  She'd deal with Lizzie as she saw fit.  And as long as she got enough results, she was pretty sure she could keep it that way.

"I'm sorry about that, too.  You need someone  to show you.  And.." She didn't really know what to say to that, just nodding softly.  "You don't have to eat quite so quickly.  There's more, if you want it."   She'd bring out enough for Lizzie to make herself sick if the child wanted. That was how they learned.

"Harmony and Melody.  I love them very much."  There's a pang of sadness from her.  She didn't spend enough time with them.  Too much at work.


"Oh, no, I know now. I didn't before I was magic."

Lizzie looks at the bowl.

"No thank you. I gotta wait after each bowl. Sometimes my body will not realize it's full, so I gotta give it time to catch up."

She has the cadence of someone repeating something told to them.

"Those are pretty names."

...Some part of her wanted to know.

"What was the answer?"  She asks.

She smiles and nods softly at that.  "Wise decision."

"Thank you.  I think so too.  I think they'd like you."  She considers a little.  "When did you become magic?"

 

"Mommies worry about you a lot. They car a lot, and try and do things for you. Sometimes too many things, But that can be nice sometimes too."

Lizzie pauses, thinking.

"Um... I didn't track months until..... 8 months ago I think is when I remember. 

But about 11 or 12 or 13 months ago.

I was in the forest, and someone offered me a contract. Then I went and did a job, and then I could speak to animals."

Lizzie whistles a bit of bird song to demonstrate.

Then she hisses a little, and Steven comes out of her sleeve to be scratched under his chin.

 

Dr. Brown listens, and nods some, smiling a bit.  She ruffles Lizzie's hair just a little.  "Well, we'll see if I can do too many things for you, too."

She listens, and she nods just a little.  A year.  Amazing.  And just... a wild forest child.  Difficult to believe.

But she believed every word.  She watches Steven come out, and just watches for a few seconds before her hand goes to her pocket. 

She pulls a phone out, checking it for a moment before putting it back.  

"Okay.  You said you know how to get washed up, right?  Why don't you go and show me how well you can wash up.  I have to go talk with someone, I'll be back in a little bit, okay?  If you need anything, you can come over to this door and ask."  

She pauses after standing up.  "And let me get that backpack from you.  It looks  heavy, and honestly, a little dirty, too..."

Lizzie nods. She shrinks a little bit.

I miss Jenn and Tilly

"Um. Will you give it back to me?" Lizzie asks.

She keeps holding her staff, and her pepper spray , but will hand over her backpack.

Dr.  Brown nods a little.  "We'll clean it, and you can have it back when you leave, okay?"  She hesitates for a moment.  "And the pepper spray,  please,  Lizzie.  It's not safe."  She opens up the backpack.

Lizzie frowns.

"But... What if someone attacks me... Can I have it back after I shower?"

"Or... for jobs at least?"

"You can have it back when you leave, along with your pack."

Lizzie nods, then hands it over.

Then she goes to take a shower.

She cries in the shower a little bit. The shampoo isn't the same at the brand that Jenn bought for her. 

But she knows how to take care of herself... mostly.

She cleans herself and brushes her long and curly hair.

Dr. Brown smiles, putting the pepper spray gently into the bag and closing it.  She stands up, and heads out. 

By the time she's done, Dr. Brown still hasn't returned.

5 days, 18 hours ago: Liz wrote a Downtime Journal for Feral Whispers

Adventure with Mittens.

There are a lot of games that you can make when you are a cat!

You are fast, can jump, can hide! You can squeeze through tight spaces! 

 

Mittens is the best play mate! He doesn't always want to play, but when he does he is the best! 

I told him about different games! I can only do some of them as a human, or with a human helping. Chasing the dot and the toys is fun, especially when Tilly did it! She was really good at making them hard to chase, and the hard chases were the best one!

But we could also play hide and seek! Or go adventuring! 

I don't tell my moms about this. But sometimes me and Mitten will go outside! We can run up the trees, and scratch the bark, and chase each other through the gras!!

I could catch mittens if I wanted to. The wind can help me. But I don't, since we are just having fun.

6 days, 13 hours ago: Dennis Price wrote a Downtime Journal for HOA Meeting

Luxembourg

The power I awakened in myself finally gave me a tool to fulfill my ambition. Channeling the cries, woes and pain of the masses into one ethereal bullet to crush the mind of any king, duke or baron. I tried to get rid of someone in my own country first, but someone else was buying out all signatures I would need to use as a catalyst, so I set my sight further down. The crown prince of Luxembourg. It was easy enough to find enough of his signatures if you've got the funds. The rest was a cakewalk, he shouldn't be much more than a breathing rock. 
But it seems I have drawn the aggression of the Luxembourgian secret service, I needed to get rid of an investigator and his team. It seems they have my photo now, but no matter, one down. Only dozens more to go. I'll lay down until the next job, before I will spill the metaphorical blood again.

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The Illumination

Illuminated Earth is a twisted reflection of the modern world where the advent of smartphones and the internet confirmed the existence of the supernatural instead of disproving it. Here, witch hunts have merit. Billionaires and Senators employ paranormal advisors and bodyguards, and everyone knows. Charlatans become pop culture icons, and each revelation inspires a new cult. The world is changing. The secret societies that pull humanity's strings scramble to adapt.

Now's a good time to move up.

House Rules

Contractors from Maelstrom Are portable, and may play in Contracts in other Playgroups.
Maelstrom grants 6 Experience points to GMs who achieve the Golden Ratio.

Contractor Creation Rules

  • New Contractors must be submitted for approval in The Contract Discord server's #approvals channel before their first game.
  • At creation, Contractors cannot take more than a combined 5 Assets and Liabilities that cost/grant Exp. Free Assets do not count toward this limit.
  • Contractors cannot be direct ripoffs of pop-culture concepts, to the point that NPCs in-game would notice the similarity. For example: you could play a heroic strong-man or a famous weapons-developer but not specifically Superman or Iron Man.
  • Contractors may not start out as a concept that is likely to disrupt Contracts (e.g. being a walking, talking fox, being as notorious as Osama bin Laden, having a bomb in their chest that detonates when they die, etc).
  • Contractors are mundane people who would see their ambitions through regardless of access to powers. That is why a Harbinger offers Gifts, and why they are willing to risk their lives for the power to make their dreams come true.
    • Your Ambition must be a core driver to your character's actions, is a large point of tension for their story, and is likely to get them into trouble. Craft your Ambition carefully and be open to suggestions and changes from Endorsed GMs in order nail it.
    • Keep in mind, however, that Ambitions can (and will) change over time as your Contractor develops. It's simply part of character development! No matter what, Ambitions are why a Contractor risks their life continuing to participate in Contracts. 

 

Maelstrom Contractor Limits

  • In order to facilitate more focused character concepts, Maelstrom has a hard limit on the number of Newbies and Novices per Player. At Maximum, a Player can only have 2 Newbies and 3 Novices active in Maelstrom at once.
  • Any Contractor housed in the Playgroup is considered active. Remove them from the Playgroup if you don't want to play them. Moving Contractors back into the Playgroup requires Judge approval. 

 

Power Creation Rules

  • Cohesive Powers: Manifested Gifts must be in-line with Character Concepts and requires Endorsed GM approval.
  • Logical Flavor: Players must be able to explain how and why their power works in a given situation, otherwise GMs have license to cause them to fail.
    • For Example: a Blast flavored as a ball of fire might not work underwater. But at the same time, that same Blast power might do extra damage to enemies vulnerable to fire. GMs always have final say, but must remember to make Powers feel powerful. 

 

Citizenship

  • Active Players are expected to GM Contracts from time to time. If you have played as a Contractor 6 Maelstrom Contracts, you are barred from playing in Maelstrom again until you GM a Contract yourself.
    • This limit can be temporarily lifted if an Endorsed GM gives explicit approval to allow you to play in their game.
    • If at this limit, you may attend a game run by another GM fulfilling Citizenship.

 

Downtimes

Interacting and addressing Loose Ends, Conditions, and/or Circumstances require Moves during the Downtime between Contracts. This connects your contractor with the world in some tangible way.

  • Treacherous Loose Ends: A Contractor who waits for a Loose End's threat to manifest without taking any precautions against it during their Downtimes will see the threat revealing itself at the worst possible moment during downtime. Ask Endorsed GMs and Playgroup Leaders for Moves to help control Loose Ends before they control you.
  • Neutral/Unknown Loose Ends: Some Loose Ends are Unknown, meaning that they give the *Player* a hint of moving parts behind the scenes, but not necessarily the *Character*. A Neutral Loose End usually means that the dangers or benefits of the Loose End are obscured or up to the Character's actions once it manifests.
  • Investments: Some Loose Ends bestow benefits at the end of their clock. Investments are usually rewards for Moves and Hustles, but they might come from other sources as well. Ask Endorsed GMs and Playgroup Leaders for Moves to further your Contractor's goals.

 

--------

Notes on GMing in Maelstrom

  • All members of Maelstrom are encouraged to GM and run Moves, and no approval is required. Custom Scenarios likewise do not require pre-approval. 
    • Feel free to ask Endorsed GMs and Playgroup Leaders for feedback on your custom scenario before running it. 
    • By default, you cannot run Games or Moves for a tier that you have not played in yourself. For example, if you would like to run a Novice game, but have never played a Novice game, you must wait until you have had some experience in Novice as a Player.
  • Use GM Notes on the Story tab of the Contractor Sheet! This is a place to provide more detail about Circumstances, Conditions, and Loose Ends as well as important developments behind the scenes. Good GM notes makes it easier to run relevant Contracts and Moves for characters.
  • Keep intros concise during game time. If you want to run more extensive introductions, try to do it before playtime. Players, in general, should not need to be wheeled-and-dealed to agree to a Contract. A simple message sent to them should suffice.
  • In general, Contracts and Moves are subject to an "Exposure" criteria, especially when it comes to posted World Events. Contractors in higher Gift ranges have more freedom to affect the playgroup as a whole. At Newbie/Novice, however, the outcomes games will not ever have an international reach. Though Contractors might remember terrible things happening during their Contract, World Events might be scaled back due to meddling from The Powers That Be.
    • Don't take it personally if your World Event gets edited by a Playgroup Leader. It's part of the game and our efforts to keep consistent tone within the Playgroup.
  • GMs are encouraged to build interesting, consistent locations and organizations for Contractors to explore and engage with through Contracts and Moves. Talk to a Playgroup Leader about location development, they are happy to delegate the development of content.


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FAQ

The above notes should be enough for you to get started on playing the game, and running games. If you have any other questions, you can ask the playgroup members in the discord. However, there are some other questions that are asked frequently, and for that we have this FAQ.

You don't need to read all of it to play in Maelstrom, but it may be referenced for explanations of some rulings, and playgroup norms. The FAQ applies only to Maelstrom, and not the Contract generally, but you may freely copy any parts of it you find useful.

High level basics:

Q: What is the contract?

A: The contract is a TTRPG with an accompanying website
https://www.thecontractrpg.com/

Q: What is this server?

A: This server is the central discord of the Contract. Here we play games in the Maelstrom Playgroup, and people ask questions about the game in general. 

It’s main goals are to 
help people learn to play and run the contract
Run games in the official setting of the contract
Give official contract announcements (about the website, and similar)
Make sure people have fun.

Q: What is a playgroup?

A: A Playgroup is a group of Players who regularly play The Contract together. A Playgroup is also a group of Contractors that share a setting. 

Q: What is Maelstrom?

A: Maelstrom is a playgroup (https://thecontractrpg.com/playgroup/13/) that uses the official Illumination setting : https://thecontractrpg.com/guide/setting-world-building/ . It has its own set of house rules, its own history and some quirks that come from it being the place most players start.

Q: What’s the difference between a playgroup and a server?

A: A server exists in discord, the playgroup is part of the website. A lot of games happen over discord, either in Voice chat (VC) or Play by Post (PBP), but some playgroups play exclusively in person, without using discord.


Getting Started:

Q: Okay, I want to play! What should I do?

A: Make a character! Note the house rules of Maelstrom. Notably
You can’t have more than 5 assets and liabilities at character creation.
We expect that your ambition, archetype and  paradigm fit the setting, and that all your powers come from your paradigm. https://thecontractrpg.com/guide/rules/#character-concept

We also don’t allow child, or animal contractors until players have been around for a while, and multiple Judges approve the character. This is because they can be disruptive and make the game less fun for other players. See a later question about this specifically.

After you have made a character, post them in approvals. Then a Judge (Purple name) or a Gavel Goblin (Green name) will look over them, and make sure they follow the rules.

You may be tempted to min max your character, and get 5 assets and liabilities. We push against that slightly for first characters, as it adds complexity, but doesn’t necessarily make your character better. But you can if you want.


Q: I played my first contract and I won!

A: Great! Now you get your first gift. If you fill out all your questionnaires and journals you can get bonus EXP, and extra improvements!

Q: I played my first contract and I died!

A: Great! Death happens in the contract. Different playgroups and GMs have different levels of lethality. Now you can make a new character, and by spending a Charon coin that character will start with a gift!

Q: I’m worried that my character will die! I don’t want them to

A: You can play in different playgroups where it is less likely your characters will die. Some don’t allow death before a certain number of wins. Some have more and less lethal games. Maelstrom aims to feel dangerous, because that is the original design of the contract, and we think that a risk of death adds a lot to the stories.

Q: How else can I improve my character?

A: Every game you get some experience and a gift point. If you fill out your journals, and questionnaires you will get more experience and improvements that you can spend up to a cap (most people don’t hit the exp cap).

You can spend this Experience on improving your abilities and attributes, or your source. You can’t decrease an ability or attribute unless you are doing a rework.

Sometimes, if there is a good story reason, or you are doing a rework, you can add assets, or liabilities. After initially acquiring, these will often cost exp, and require either a contract or a move to have given the character a reason to acquire it (for example having a horrifying experience can justify the character acquiring the Jaded condition). Assets always require approval to get or remove. Getting liabilities requires approval, but removing them doesn’t.

Q: That assets and liabilities paragraph seemed confusing, how do I get new conditions and circumstances?
A: There are a few ways.

If you do a move, you can gain trophies, some conditions and some circumstances. These usually don’t cost exp, because the change is acquiring something physical (money, a cool weapon) or something social (respect, expertise, etc.).

But, if you want to change something about yourself (get longer arms, get better at ignoring pain, get faster reflexes), then you need to get approval, and spend EXP.

GMing:

Q: What is Citizenship? Do I really need to GM?

A: In Maelstrom, after you play in 6 games, you need to GM one. This is necessary for making sure that enough games are run in Maelstrom, and that everyone gets to play. It is necessary for the playgroup health. 

If you don’t want to, you are welcome to hang out, ask questions, play in your first 6 games, and move your character to a different playgroup, but for the sake of community health, we need citizenship.

Q: What do I get for GMing?

A: Every time you GM you get an improvement, which you can add to your character. Improvements let you increase the cost of gifts you already have. You can do until your gifts + improvements reach a cap of 2 times the number of victories you have earned. You can also earn exp by running moves and writing them up, running for new players, or running a golden ratio.

Q: I want to run a Highlander game! What should I do?

A: First, make sure that every player knows the game is a highlander game before they sign up. Include it in the notes, or any invites.

Second, make sure to talk about expectations beforehand. Highlanders can be fun, but can also be upsetting to some players, and taking extra care is good practice.

Q: How does voiding games work? Why would one do it?


A: See https://www.thecontractrpg.com/guide/rules/#voiding-contracts . You generally don’t void games, unless something really bad happens. (A player with an unapproved character got the party killed, The GM misunderstood a rule in a way which made people have a bad time, or generally that the players and GM really didn’t have fun, and think the game won’t make the story more interesting.)


Q: I want to run a game, but only 2 people signed up. Can I still run a game?


A: Maybe.

Duo games (games with two people) are recommended against for newbies, because of their danger, and a history of bad play experiences. 

But, if everyone is warned, they can be done.

Games going long +  other issues:

Q: I’m in this game, and it’s been going on for 5 hours! But I don’t want my character to die if I leave. Can I leave?

A: Games in Maelstrom are expected to be completed within 4-5 hours at maximum. 

If a game goes over 5 hours, players are allowed to leave without consequences. This means a win, or a loss without consequences that come just from the player leaving. 

Games can go long, but no one should feel trapped in a game. 

If a game needs to take a particularly long time, consider making a cycle, or splitting into multiple sessions. 

Q: I’m running a game, and I can’t make it last less than 5 hours! What should I do?

A: Cut down the number of obstacles, push characters to move along if they are spending too long doing RP, or investigating something that won’t lead to something. 

There is also some amount of GM skill with managing time and expectations around. If you are newer, and can’t run short games, try starting with less players, and more experienced players.

Q: I have a loose end/ circumstances, but I can’t find the GM that game them to me/ they can’t run for a while. I don’t want the loose end to pop/ don’t want the condition, but I also don’t want this character to be frozen. 

A: If a GM can’t run a loose end for your contractor in a reasonable amount of time (a week or 2 is a reasonable amount of time), then you can get another GM to run the loose end for you, or take over in a similar way. 

Note that some GMs have less frequent schedules, but are fantastic GMs. You have the ability to swap GMs, but are not obligated to.


Reworks

Q: I have a character I’m not happy with, what can I do?

A: Whenever a character moves from newbie to novice, novice to seasoned, or seasoned to professional, they can be reworked. A rework allows you to make changes to your character that are usually not allowed (Changing a power you’ve had for a while, changing a limit, adding a condition without, reducing an ability or attribute, moving around improvements).

You can also make large flavor changes to your character, changing their paradigm, their archetype, etc.

If it is only one gift you are unhappy with, and you got it last contract (or first used it that contract), you can change that gift by reopening the approval thread and changing it.


Q: Oh, so when I get a character to be seasoned I can move my gifts up to be all seasoned and more powerful?

A: No.

Seasoned gifts are limited. This is checked by looking at the number of gifts a character has with the “requires seasoned” tag. 

When a character reaches seasoned, they can have two gifts that require seasoned. Then that limit increased by 2 every victory.

Q: Oh, so I can save up a bunch of improvements and then get one super powerful seasoned gift with max improvements?
A: No. Please don’t do that. This has a bit of a history, and lots of people have done it, and planned around doing it. But current policy is that you should not do that.

This is annoying to check, so usually Judges and Gavel goblins don’t check. But this is lame.  If we notice you have way more seasoned improvements in a power than "seasoned improvements" (Increases in the gift cap you got from playing a game that gave you a seasoned gift point) then we’ll scold you and make you change it.


Moves

Q: What is a move?

A: A move is a non contract session of RP where the character tries to change something about the world, interact with the story, or acquire more goods. This is done with at least one GM, and 1 player, but there can be more than 1 player. The GM's character's can't be involved in the move.


Q: Who can run a move?

A: Anyone can, but you probably want someone more experienced to check the outcome of it. Also see the next question.


Q: How much of the world can I affect on a move?

A: This all varies playgroup to playgroup. But I will give the Maelstrom guidelines.

As a newbie character, you can impact a town

As a novice character, you can impact cities.

As a seasoned character, you can impact states, and small countries.

As a professional character, you can impact countries. At Veteran, you can impact the entire world.


Q: What kind of rewards can I get from a move?

A: Look at the https://thecontractrpg.com/guide/gm-manual/#trophy-systems for guidance, and https://thecontractrpg.com/guide/gm-manual/#running-moves 

For every move, the reward you gain must be balanced by the risk! That risk can be mitigated by some gifts, and some moves are just an application of gifts, but generally in the world of Maelstrom, all rewards require risks.


Q: How do I do a move?

A: Make a post in the moves channel with your plan. Interested GMs will check it out.


Q: How do I run a move?

A: If you want to run a move, find someone’s move thread that looks interesting, then run it like a contract. Keep in mind restrictions on rewards.

Also, if a character is interacting with their backstory, make sure they don’t get any rewards not already specified. A prince of hell character can’t do a move to ask his dad to smite something (unless maybe that is the flavor for a gift)


Q: What is a hustle? How is it different from a move?

A: The difference between a hustle and a move is GM time investment.

If a GM needs to spend time planning and preparing, and a good amount of time running, then it is a move.

If the GM has a 5 to 10 minute conversation about you doing something which doesn’t much impact the world, then it is probably a hustle.

If you have a 5 minute conversation, and your character drops a bomb on a city, cures cancer, starts a plague, or does something else that would require a large world event, that the GM will have to write up then it is a move.

Moves should be written up by the GM who ran by going to the characters story tab, and hit record move. If you write enough, you will get bonus experience.

Approvals

Q: What do I need to do to get my contractor/ gift approved?

A: Post your contractor or gift in approvals.
Make sure
The name of your contractor or gift is the title of the post
The gifts fit the contractors paradigm (Rarely ambition or archetype https://thecontractrpg.com/guide/rules/#character-concept) in flavor and have a visual description
The gift is added to your contractors sheet. This makes it easier to see how the gift fits with the contractors other gifts
If you have a maddening or disfiguring on a gift add it to your sheet


Q: I have a maddening or disfiguring, where should I mark it on my sheet?


A: Add a battle scar or trauma by clicking add battle scar, or add trauma. (if you already have a trauma or a battle scar, that can’t be a maddening or disfiguring for a new power, you need to add a new one not gain on a contract)


Q: Why hasn’t my gift/contractor been approved yet?


A: The approval process is done by judges, and gavel goblins that are doing it voluntarily because it is important for the community. They will get to it when they get to it, but feel free to bump your thread to make it appear at the top of approvals if it has been a while.


Q: Why do we even have an approval process? Why can't I just play?


A: Maelstrom expects a certain quality of characters, and for powers to be easy for GMs to reason about and understand in game. Approvals makes this happen more.


Q: I notice some gifts and contractors get approved super quickly. Why is that?


A: Gifts get approved most quickly if they are in the flavor of a contractor's gift, and don’t have complicated write in.


Q: I keep seeing people say flavor, what does that mean?


A: Flavor means visual description, and story wise where the power comes from. A blast power can represent a storm of blades, or a fireball with the same power improvements. Flavor determines how the gift is described, and sometimes how and when they can work.


Q: I want to get a gift with the Triggered improvement, what kind of triggers can I use?


A: Triggers are a very powerful, and very sensitive improvement. Because of that, we are very careful with them, although approvers have had different policies for what triggers in the past.

The current policy with Triggers is that:
Triggers are dumb. They can be triggered by certain stimuli, but they can’t get hidden information.
Triggers can’t detect attacks or dodges. Someone giving you a friendly slap on the back will trigger the same power that triggers on attacks.
Triggers can be triggered by taking damage, but must be a sev-2 or higher


Q: I want to use a conditional, what conditionals can I use?


A: Conditionals should be not usable half the time. Common conditionals are the time of day, or requiring another power with an activation requirement to be activated.

Items and Crafting


Q: So I can make a lot of artifacts, can I have one character make a bunch of artifacts for my other characters?


A: No. Maelstrom doesn’t allow characters to benefit from that player’s other characters. You also can’t trade items for out of character reasons.


Q: A character I met has a cool item. Can I buy it from them, or trade something?

A: Maybe!

For balancing reasons, we don’t allow all levels of character to trade with each other. Doing so would allow for some characters to have abilities that aren’t balanced for the scenarios they are attempting.

Novice artifacts cannot be given to newbies. Although novices can be looted by newbies.

Seasoned can give to novices but only a Max of 1 gift with 2 cost or lower, unless they are looted. 

Vet can give to Prof. But only 1 gift, with 2 costs or lower.

For all of these trades, they must happen between contractors that know each other from meeting, or a mutual connection, Offr will not advertise items to a lower tier of play than the contractor is in.

 

 

Q: Crafted Items are so expensive? How do some people have so many?

A: Whenever you make an item, you get up to 2 free crafts of it, at its highest level.

 

Miscellaneous:

Q: I keep hearing about a seasoned test, and a few other types of test with the other ranks.

A: On the last novice game for a character, GMs will often try and make the game more difficult, because the character should be at the peak of their level. This is called a Seasoned test.

The last game of professional level is called a Vet- test. This is a solo game where they must be able to do a high level game by themselves. They must complete this to become a veteran.

These two have led to a general term for the last game in a bracket being call the X-Test, where X is the next bracket (novice-test, professional test, etc.) 

These are part of the culture, but not necessary in the contract generally. A special kind of game for a Seasoned test is not required to move up, but a Vet test is required to move up.



Q: I want to buy a country. Or a multi million dollar item. But finances caps out at 1 million. Can I save up? Can I have my company buy it? How do I handle and run large purchases


A: A large part of The Contract as a game is risks for power. This is where a lot of the story, and intrigue comes from. You can minimize risks, and be clever, but if you want to get substantial benefit, you need to take risks. For purchases under one million, you can take that risk by reducing the finances you have access to for the next game. For purchases over one million, you need to take some other sort of risk to get a lump of cash.  The goal of this is to  facilitate interesting stories. 


Q: How do I do a move to increase my finances?

A: You need to take a sizable risk. Something a GM would find interesting to run, and which can come with complications. Potentially a multi part move.

Q: I want to put an Item on Offr Red. Are there any limitations on who and how much I can trade with?

A: Yes! 

For trades on Offr, contractors can only interact with someone in the bracket equal to them, and the one above and below them. Novices can only interact with Seasoned contractors, Seasoned contractors only with Novices and Professionals, and Professionals with Seasoned and Veteran contractors. 

If you are trading an effect which is above the level of the contractor, i.e. a Seasoned effect, you can only give one effect of that type to a contractor. 

A Novice can have one seasoned effect in this way, and no more. A Professional can have one Veteran effect in this way. 


Q: If a contractor dies on a contract, but then is brought back, can they still do contracts?


A: This depends. With the Lazarus enhancement on heal wounds, regeneration, inevitable comeback, Possession and a few gifts that specifically give their users continued life, yes they can. 

With Raise Dead, generally no (unless it was the veteran enhancement, and on a game)


Q: I want to play a child contract! Or an Animal!

A: For young children (younger than 16), or animals, we generally want a player who has played and GM’d a while before having a character with the potential to be very disruptive. 

The general standards are to have a character at Seasoned, and to have GM’d 6 games. 

Then 3 Judges, or Gavel goblins can give their stamp of approval on the character, and they can be played.


Q: I have a stat boost from something other than my Mythic. Does that count towards improvements like ‘Seeing Double’ on mythic perception and unflappable on mythic charisma?

A: No.

 


Powers Special Maelstrom rules / clarifications:

"Pets"

Q-1: I found a super powerful enemy that took a bunch of contractors working together to kill. Can I raise it from the dead and bring it on every contract?
Q-2: I found a super powerful creature that after beating down a lot with the help of others I was able to command creature and tame them. Can I bring it on every contract? 
Q-3: I found a super powerful creature, tamed them, and used Andalite to become them. Can I travel to the next contract in their form?
Q-4: I had some way of making a permanent minion with awesome magic powers  not mentioned above! Can I bring it to every contract.
Q-5: I have this super powerful trophy, and ...

 

A: No/Maybe/ ask.

Contracts are going to have a lot of different enemies, and GMs will make custom stats and special effects. GMs will disagree in maelstrom about some of these. Because of that, you generally can’t bring super powerful alien beings from other contracts onto a contract. Or at least, you can't expect them to have access to all their effects. If using them in moves, you should make sure the GM knows about it, and understands the stats.  If you want to use them on a game, tell the GM, and they will have the right to veto anything that relies on powerful magic that couldn't be reliably made without a special creature.

For example: You command creature a drake that could breath fire, had 8 armor and 11 body that regenerates 1 wound level per round (this probably shouldn't be something you encounter regularly). You will need to ask the GM before expecting the dragon to be able to breath fire or regenerate. You can expect that the dragon will at least behave like a "Giant" creature mentioned in the extended text, and any augments you gave it/ other standard stats for creatures, but the other alien properties are up to the GM.

For anything thing you got on other contracts, GMs have veto right, and you should expect that the stronger it is, the more likely they are to use that veto.


Q: For animal transformation, and the Andalite improvement, if you become an alien creature/ a creature without standard stats, do you get its stats, and magic abilities or the stats of a creature that size. 


A:
Options I see for this
Weakest - The only thing that matters is the size parameter, and the +3 dice for things the creature is naturally adapted for
Slightly stronger- You get the exact physical attributes of the creature you copied. You cannot have access to any alien effects on them.
Very strong - You get the exact physical attributes of the creature you copied. You have access to the physical effects which are passive and innate to physiology
Crazy - You get access to all stats of the creature. Your int, charisma and perception stay the same, but everything other stat is replaced. You have access to all effects.

In Maelstrom we use option 3. You get physical attributes, and physical effects which are passive and innate to physiology

 However, see the above question on bringing on contracts. You cannot start a contract with an alien creature from another GM and use it in any game. You can bring standard stat creatures, or augmented creatures, or similar if you can get them to the contract.

This is to prevent people from showing up with armies of dragons, or fire breathing salamanders that the GM might not have background on, and might overshadow the rest of the game.

 

Energy Transfer
Q :  I know for mythic enhancements like Seeing Double from perception or Unflappable from Charisma, don't get buffed with drain attribute, because they specifically reference +x per Extra Attribute.
 I have a couple different things that could be clarified, about Drain Attribute and E-Transfer in general Brilliant deduction and Remarkable Self-Aware. Can both receive extra dice because their rolls are based on purely on INT? Due to how the additional info on Drain is worded, does it only effect mechanics in a negative way, such as lowering free move from being drained of dexterity, or less encumbrance from losing strength?  or can you gain free move and encumbrance?
Q: Is Tough Armor from Brawn increased if I receive more dice/benefits from Drain Attribute
Q: Does additional brawn from drain attribute work with Caber Toss, which states, "You may lift an additional 2000 pounds per point of Brawn beyond 5"

A: Attribute drain doesn't give you any extra stats for the sake of other qualities that depend on that attribute. So, Tough, encumbrance and free move would not be changed. Remarkably self aware and brilliant deduction would increase.

Q:  Does Attune have a limit on the number of people I can be attuned to at once?:
Q: If I Attune to 2 people and have Cut Out the Middle Man, can I E-transfer between them? 
Q: If I hit someone with a restrict, that doesn't encase them and only bans movement, are they considered "Bound" For the purposes of being unable to resist
Q: What if encase does pop do they now count as Bound
Q: If a target is grappled do they count as Bound for resisting

A:  With the rules are written, Attune does not have a limit on the number of people you can be attuned to. However, Energy transfer is one of the gifts planned to be updated in the next patch due to the power of the cult leader improvement. So for now, attune has a limit of 2 people in maelstrom. This will be updated when energy transfer is updated in the next patch.

 You can transfer between individuals if you are attuned to both. Restrict will only count as bound if they are encased and imprisoned. Grapples do not count as bound.

Q: Can I suggest/mind control someone to always pay for my activation cost with Pooled Resources, (i assume so, but sometimes Contractors don't know exactly how the system works, so i don't know), 

A: Yes

 

Full Setting Description

This Playgroup uses the official Illumination Setting with slight tweaks.

Very small supernatural phenomena are rare, but not completely unknown. Fewer than 20,000 people in the US are born with some kind of basic supernatural abilities. Think, a guy who can snap his fingers to light a cigarette, slightly glowing eyes that help to see in the dark, or the ability to make a small electric spark. Very niche, not terribly useful, a cool party trick. The big supernatural phenomena are what makes the news, and what creates Illuminations. A bona-fide werewolf, an insect disguised as a human, a monstrous cryptid, or other similar intense anomalies will absolutely catch the attention of the media if they are found.

World Events

Posted by jwesley123, 6 hours, 30 minutes ago. Permalink

The Hunger Breaks in Portsmouth

Portsmouth, Ohio — After weeks of total blight, the land itself has begun to heal.

 

Fields once choked with gray, brittle stalks now show fresh green shoots breaking through the soil. The cracked earth of Main Street has darkened with moisture, and weeds are sprouting through the pavement. Water in the Scioto River has lost its pale metallic sheen, running clear once again.

 

Livestock brought into the area are feeding without issue, and stored grain no longer crumbles into dust. The faint, dry odor that had lingered in the air since the disaster has dissipated entirely.

 

The transformation was sudden, occurring overnight. From the hills to the riverbanks, Portsmouth’s landscape has shifted from lifeless sterility to signs of new growth — as if whatever force had drained the place simply vanished.

Posted by jwesley123, 14 hours, 34 minutes ago. Permalink

“Market Crash, Witch’s Rise”

[LIVE NEWS FEED TRANSCRIPT]

 

“It’s been a week since the Information Super Highway Potholes crisis sent shockwaves through every corner of our economy and our culture. The aftershocks are still being felt — not just in the streets, but in the markets.

 

All major corporate indexes closed down again today, marking the fifth consecutive day of double-digit losses. Experts say the sustained drop is worse than the crash of 2008 in both scale and speed.

 

Defense stocks — traditionally insulated by conflict — are down between 22 and 31 percent after questions arose about the effectiveness of conventional weapons against emerging Maelstrom-class threats, such as last week’s so-called “robotic global superterrorist.”

 

Tech companies have been hit even harder, with losses in the 35 to 42 percent range, thanks to both the infrastructure collapse and ongoing questions about cybersecurity and physical data vulnerabilities. Energy and agriculture aren’t far behind, each posting their worst quarterly outlooks in decades.

 

But amid the wreckage, one organization is rising in a way analysts are calling “unprecedented.”

 

The Sons of Salem — an ultra-traditionalist religious-political group known for its militant rhetoric and ritualistic pageantry — has reported record-shattering donation levels in the past seven days. Financial disclosures reveal an intake of more than $4.8 billion in public and private contributions, primarily from rural and exurban regions.

 

Our newsroom has verified that a significant portion of these funds came from small-dollar donors giving less than $200 each, a sign of broad-based grassroots support rather than isolated corporate backing.

 

Pollsters are equally surprised. A new Gallman-Krieger national survey finds that 41% of Americans view the Sons of Salem “favorably” or “very favorably” — up from just 9% last quarter. In the Midwest, that number spikes to 56%. Support is highest among respondents who believe the Goshen Wall “saved lives” and those who think the U.S. should “reclaim” abandoned territories by any means necessary.

 

Perhaps most concerning to civil rights groups is the organization’s announcement this morning: they intend to bid for ownership and governance rights to the abandoned territory of Goshen, Indiana. Legal analysts note that while such a purchase is controversial, it is not unprecedented under federal Abandoned Territory Law, provided the Department of Interior approves the transfer.

 

We took to the streets for reaction. In Elkhart, Indiana, just 20 minutes from the Goshen wall, a man named Carl told us: “If the Sons take Goshen, maybe they’ll finally clean it out. Government sure hasn’t.” But in Chicago, protestor Yvette Ramos said: “You’re talking about handing an entire town over to extremists. That’s not security — that’s a crusade.”

 

At press time, a Quinn-Baylor flash poll shows that 38% of Americans support the Sons of Salem controlling Goshen, 45% oppose, and 17% remain undecided. Among those aware of the monster sightings in Goshen before the Wall, support rises to 52%.

 

The White House has not commented on the bid, and neither the National Guard nor any corporate stakeholders inside Goshen have confirmed whether they would cooperate with a Salem-controlled administration.

 

One thing is clear: while the nation’s largest companies are bleeding value, the Sons of Salem have positioned themselves as the first power player of the post-crash era. Whether their rise is a passing wave or the start of a new kind of governance in the Maelstrom age… remains to be seen.”

Frank Russo made a Move (leonvanderblight GMed) 21 hours, 28 minutes ago. View Move

Information Super Highway Potholes?

Spots of the internet are crashing and going down globally. While we are unsure, this has left regions like Goshen Indiana without internet or cellular service. While they are attempting to repair the systems, President Trump's Wall is complicating issues. 

We'll be with you as this develops but the nation is in panic as the military apparently turns it's weapons on citizens, and while the national guard has been pressed for comment they have iterated that apparently a robotic global superterrorist, and her entourage featuring several new addendums was the cause for the deployment of artillery and not only that but it seems the subjects are still at large despite deployment of vehicle scale weaponry! 

At this point, the question has to be asked. Is traditional weaponry enough anymore, or will weapons development companies need to start forays into new technologies to combat these threats of a new age that run rampant through our world with no apparent way to stop them?  

Wait- 

We're getting a live update, Jim. I can't believe what I'm hearing. It appears as though area 51 has just detonated it's onsite nuclear warhead. The devastation in the desert is immense, but we have confirmation of the first nuclear weapons detonation on US soil since 1992 Jim. The carnage it's.. incalculable! Reports are coming in but it's too soon to say what the death toll is Jim. 

May god have mercy on all our souls.

Posted by jwesley123, 3 days, 15 hours ago. Permalink

The Rod Bearers Fell

Two individuals—unidentified, unannounced, and both carrying what is believed to be a Rod of Asclepius, a powerful artifact associated with miraculous healing—entered the quarantined towns of Portsmouth, Ohio, and St. Leon, Indiana within days of one another.

 

Both are now presumed dead.

 

No change was observed in either town.

 

Portsmouth, Ohio

The first event took place earlier this week, when a lone figure was seen approaching the edge of Portsmouth. Surveillance recorded them walking across the boundary carrying the Rod—glowing faintly, its design consistent with known depictions of the artifact.

 

They passed into the town.

There was no visible response from the environment.

No change in the afflicted population.

No signal that the artifact activated.

 

Roughly ninety minutes after entry, all visual contact was lost. The military has declined to comment on whether the individual was found or retrieved. The Rod is still believed to be within the town.

 

St. Leon, Indiana

Two days later, a second figure entered the sealed perimeter of St. Leon, also wielding a Rod of Asclepius.

 

They walked alone into the heart of the town.

There was no resistance. No reaction. No observable effect.

 

After initial contact, all monitoring data became inconclusive. As with the previous event, the military has not released information on the individual’s fate. They are officially presumed deceased, and the artifact remains inside the town limits.

Military Statement

A brief statement from the Department of Paranormal Defense and Oversight reads:

 

“Two unauthorized entries occurred in active quarantine zones. Both individuals are presumed lost. Recovery operations are not recommended at this time. No further comment will be provided.”

 

Descriptions of the individuals have not been released. No affiliations have been confirmed. Both Rods remain untouched.

Public Reaction

Observers around the world expected divine intervention, supernatural response, or at least a reaction. But nothing happened. Two powerful artifacts were brought to the heart of devastation—

—and the world stayed silent.

Now, two towns sit under watch.

Each contains a Rod of Asclepius.

Each bears the weight of a failed attempt.

 

Whether the artifacts were flawed, the wielders unworthy, or the diseases beyond help remains unknown.

Emily Miller made a Move (Ricterx GMed) 3 days, 15 hours ago. View Move

Promethius Building Explodes!

Coverage of Ft. Bliss's Promethus building would be projected all over the news as the building was destroyed, the footage would show the building engulfed in flames as civilians and military personnel would begin putting them out or watching from the side. Details would indicate that some supernatural force or creature may have gone through the building, attacking the manager and one other as well as destroying aspects of the building itself by crashing through it. Promethous CEO and chairman Gildara Austan would give a press briefing soon after learning about the destruction of their property.

 

"We are well informed that this could have been a terrorist act placed upon us for the sake of political gain. Whoever may be responsible will be brought to justice as well as ensuring that all property that was damaged will be rebuilt. We have no further questions or do we know who it could be at this time." - Promethous CEO Gildara Austan

 

As for the US military, this act has caused them to ramp up security on all bases, as well as any possible sections of federal land. They see this as an almost invasion of possible international forces that could have come about, doing this as conspiracy theorists think it could be an attack by Mexico, possibly. They would give the following statement.

 

"The president is thinking of ways to possibly act on what has happened on one of our biggest bases in the US. This type of attack on both us and our business allies can't stand. As such, from what he has told me he is thinking of an action to give the military carte blanche to detain, arrest, and or eliminate any enemies they see fit. Especially of supernatural origin, as they will get increased scrutiny due to possible powers they may have. In addition to this, I have heard word that he is contemplating the removal of all undesignated supernaturals unless they abide by a bill being passed in the House that would put them all on a national registry. Thank you all for your time." - Press Secretary

Although there are theories and speculation as to what may have happened, work between Prometheus and the US military has been frozen for the foreseeable future while investigations mount. 

Posted by jwesley123, 4 days, 9 hours ago. Permalink

FOX NEWS BREAKING: GOSHEN ABANDONED – “A CITY OF MONSTERS AND CRIME”

April 20, 2033

Subhead: Trump: “We don’t negotiate with monsters. We wall them off and walk away.”

GOSHEN, IN — What was once a small American city is now a sealed zone of chaos, after President Donald J. Trump officially designated Goshen as abandoned territory and deported all remaining citizens into the unclaimed zone — a drastic yet wildly popular move.

“We’re not just talking about creatures. We’re talking about criminals with claws,” Trump said. “These things don’t pay taxes. They don’t follow laws. They don’t belong in our country.”

“Not Just Monsters – Monster Criminals”

While some legacy media outlets try to humanize the situation, new leaks from military patrols paint a disturbing picture of the supernatural threat inside Goshen. According to debriefings:

  • Werebeasts have been caught attacking supply drones, cannibalizing one another, and carving human words into pavement using blood.
  • Fox-like shapeshifters are reportedly impersonating humans and infiltrating abandoned homes.
  • Raccoon-creatures have been seen forming “gangs,” stealing military gear, and urinating on American flags.
  • Deer-headed cultists were found surrounding a pile of skulls, chanting anti-American slogans.

“These aren’t misunderstood cryptids,” said a source from inside the wall. “These are feral, magical gang members with no moral compass.”

The Goshen Deportation Accord

Under President Trump’s executive action, all remaining human residents were reclassified as “non-cooperative nationals” and deported into the zone, along with the creatures.

“If you live with monsters, you’re one of them,” Trump said at a rally. “We don’t bail out people who choose the wrong side of the wall.”

Fox News has confirmed these residents will no longer receive federal assistance, and all legal ties to the United States have been severed. Birth certificates, social security numbers, and property records have been flagged as “invalidated due to abandonment.”

Corporate Interest Grows as Trump Defends Move

While unnamed corporations are in negotiations with the White House to assume control of the Goshen zone for “security and experimental development,” Trump made it clear:

 

“We’re not wasting soldiers on monsters. Let the private sector handle the beasts. And if they make a few billion dollars doing it, that’s just capitalism.”

 

Polls show growing support:

 

  • 55% believe “supernaturals that break laws deserve no rights”
  • 42% agree Goshen should never have been part of America
  • 17% believe the creatures should be “humanely studied” ([marked as low-trust response by Fox polling])

 

One Goshen resident who escaped said:

“They were robbing stores. Screaming at night. Some had fur. Others wore faces. We begged for help, and Trump gave it — with a wall.”

 

 

Fox News Final Word:

Goshen isn’t just a failed city — it’s a cautionary tale.

Where lawlessness festers, monsters rise.

Where monsters rise, Trump builds walls.

Coming up next on The Ingraham Angle:

“Beastial Anarchy: What Happens When You Let the Left Run a City into the Ground.”

Liz made a Move (Polymorph GMed) 5 days, 11 hours ago. View Move

Gen-Wyld Stock on the Rise

FOX BUSINESS:  Business for foxes who work at the business factory

Jane:  Today we are seeing the fourth week in a row of constant increases in Gen-Wyld stock value.  James, do you have an explanation for this?

James: Well, it seems like for the past month a lot of things have gone Gen-Wyld's way.  It may - Again, Jane, I'm stressing may - be a sustained reaction to Gen-Wyld seemingly finally managing to plug some of those leaks in its hull.  The Crypto-Leak accounts that kept poking the side of the bear may have finally been swatted, and the market seems to like that.  Alternatively, it might be just general market upturn - the entire sector is up, although yes, Gen-Wyld makes a good part of it.

Jane:  What about  the reports of Gen-Wyld's new product line of genetically-trained animals?

James:  Well, Gen-Wyld has refused to confirm on deny those plans, and given they came out of some of the last batches of leaked documents, it remains to be seen.

Next up: Titans of Industry?  Goliath?  We have a linguistics professor on to talk about why all of the words we use to talk about 'big' things come from stories where small things destroyed them...

Mensk Xelnaga [13] made a Move (Zed GMed) 5 days, 13 hours ago. View Move

Wolves, here in Carolina?

A "small" incident raised attention in Grayson

It was a cold breeze going trough the streets of Gwenyth County when some nights revealed disturbing impressions of howling. Residents tell the if you hear closely one could even hear them barking as it seems they reached their prey. Farmers these days seem as concerned and cautious about such topics. as one would espect in dark novels. But strange enough it seemed that the police shut off the High Horn Farm for further investigations, they claim to found some torn hogs and sheep.

Many people are worried about a rather strange appearance of wolves and wonder about the poor family living at the farm. It seemes that they be in shock but alright and taken care of at this point. Our praying and best wishes are with the Strauss family and the further missing Johnny, the tittle "Mozart" of the family.

But as it seems it´ll take just a few hours for the police to investigate but the whole circumstances seem rather like "...storys out of this comic i just read", as the local kids in the park tell us in an interview.

Should we just believe all of this after locals also saw a stange man with a truck full of computer parts, wires and strangely advanced technology? It seems like there are storys that going to be told but hopefully about some wolves that beeing found and brought back to the zoo they escaped from.

Grayson county police is on it and recommends stying in the houses during the night and calm in any case beacuse there is nothing to worrie about. "It seems like there where just two sightings of different howling and collar spelling "Fluffy" known about these beasts but for the moment it actually seems like there is some weirdo trying to be funny and missleading the news and the police" - It seems like the local police does not worry about a stay dog, better do we neither. let the professionals handle this.

As we head over to the weather..

Lucas Arrete made a Move (Lord_of_Clueless GMed) 5 days, 18 hours ago. View Move

The New and exciting Arrete Athletics has opened up in Rjukan.

The newest Vlog of the Fitness Vlogger Kyle Deadlift begins:

”Hey guys, Kyle here. Today we are checking out the new and exciting Arrete Athletics Gym all the way over in Norway, Rjukan!”

*He puts his arms around himself as he acts as if he was freezing*
”Its good that such a cold plays like this, has a gym where you can keep those muscles warm and get FUCKING RIPPED.


The camera pans around showing the locally made Gym equipment being used by people from all walks of life. In the back a rather enthusiastic well build man, with a Arrete Athletics t-shirt can be seeing training a young woman. 

The camera pans over to more people training. In the background Grognar the Barbarian with a way to tight Arette Athletics t-Shirt, looking mighty out of place, can be seen. As he is seemingly teaching a small child how to properly stab someone with a knife. 

“The whole place has a rather rustic feel and overall I’d say that if you are in the area, definitely check it out.”

*Kyle flexes his muscles*
”This has been Kyle deadlift, I’ll see you guys in the Gym.” 

 

Posted by Lord_of_Clueless, 6 days, 7 hours ago. Permalink

A Tsunami washes over Miami Beach

News Cast in America: 

A sudden tsunami has appeared at Miami Beach. It has claimed the lives of many as well as destroying houses. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims. 

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